Consultation papers from securities regulators rarely make a gripping read, but a scarcely noticed document published this month by Fesco, the Federation of European Securities Commissions, could help revolutionise the European new issues market.

The Fesco consultation paper addresses one of the biggest obstacles to the creation of a truly pan-European market for new issues. The myriad of listing authorities and listings requirements across Europe means retail investors are excluded from virtually all new issues which do not take place in their own country. For all the talk of the retail equity revolution, the European retail market is still very much a domestic phenomenon - in stark contrast to the institutional end of the market.